Enzo Fernandez slammed by Benfica chief for conduct over Chelsea transfer

Benfica chief Rui Costa has taken aim at Enzo Fernandez’s conduct before his deadline day move to Chelsea.

The Argentine, who enjoyed a breakout tournament at the World Cup last year, became the subject of a British-record transfer as the Blues and Todd Boehly kept up their recent trend of spending big by handing out more than £100million to secure the midfielder’s services.

It represented a huge profit for Benfica, who signed Fernandez for just over £10m in the summer. However, Rui Costa took issue with the way the Argentine acted prior to securing the move – supposedly refusing to remain in Lisbon until the summer as he made his feelings clear.

Costa said at a press conference on Thursday: “Enzo Fernandez did not want to stay at Benfica. He didn’t give us any chance. I did my best, I’m sad, but I’m not going to cry for a player who didn’t want to stay. When Chelsea arrived, it was really impossible to change his mind.

“During deadline day we found an agreement to sell Enzo to Chelsea in the summer but he didn’t want to stay. From the moment Enzo realised [Chelsea would pay] the value of the clause it was unrelenting. We tried to insist, but the player did not show any openness to continuing at Benfica.

“I proposed to Chelsea that he stay until the summer for a lower value, but the player did not want to continue at Benfica – and this is when everything changed. At that point I said, ‘He can’t play for Benfica anymore, no way!’ I don’t cry for players who don’t want to wear our shirt.

“I had the hope that Enzo would want to fight for the championship title with us. When I realised that he didn’t want to, I also didn’t want him to wear the Benfica shirt again. A player who even with the possibility of not losing a Euro and with a secure Chelsea contract, does not want to continue, could never stay at Benfica. This player could no longer enter the locker room.”

Fernandez eventually moved for £106m – with more than £20m going to his former club River Plate, who inserted a sell-on clause into his contract less than 12 months ago. The Argentine will bolster a Chelsea midfield that already includes the likes of N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic.

After completing his move to Stamford Bridge, the World Cup winner said on his reasons for joining the Blues: “Chelsea is a big club, it’s a club that is always fighting for trophies and has won the Champions League in recent years. Together, we will look to achieve everything the club wants and take it to the next level.”